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The Author

Author James "Jim" Paavola had been a practicing psychologist for over forty years. His primary focus was children, adolescents, families, and the education system. Before his retirement from the Memphis City Schools he worked with law enforcement to develop procedures for the investigation of adolescent drug abuse, child sexual abuse, youth gangs, and school violence, as well as techniques for handling calls involving mentally ill citizens. He facilitated Critical Incident Stress Debriefings with firefighters, paramedics, and law enforcement.

Jim's stories take place in Memphis and the surrounding area. Described as soft-boiled, his mysteries involve issues of the day such as the recent economic crash, the stock market, school bullying, sexual activity in retirement communities, the scandalous side of America's for-profit health insurance industry, Mexican drug cartels, Ponzi schemes, money laundering, and challenges facing the LGBT community. He highlights psychological themes in each story, providing insight into character motivation.

Jim began writing in his retirement years. He volunteers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He and his wife live in Memphis, Tennessee.

All five novels in the Murder In Memphis series are also available in eBook format through Amazon, Smashwords, and the better known dot com sites.